I separated from (now)XH in December, 2011. I hoped to find something I could rent until the divorce was final and then buy. The first house I looked at was perfect--on paper. Beautiful older house, the front rooms and entry hall had all been redone and they were beautiful. Then you walked to the back of the house, the kitchen was a total nightmare. The real estate agent was bragging that the owner was leaving the stove and at first that looked like a great deal, newer model, double oven, but when I opened it up, it was filthy and gross. The kitchen would have been a total gut job and there was a bedroom on the main floor and it was not in great shape and some little weird room had been added on to the bedroom and didn't look like it had any insulation or anything. Upstairs was advertised as 2 bedrooms, one bedroom was fine, the other was completely open and part of the floor was missing. Plus, there was a locked door on the stair landing and when I asked the agent about it, he just shrugged and said he had no idea what it was.
I ended up in another house, that is mostly perfect for me. I wanted to find something in DS3's school district, something that is easy access because I have an older dog with mobility issues, and I like older houses, so something I like since I plan on staying here the rest of my life.
I signed a contact in December, 2011, to rent until the divorce was final. Everything was going great until March, 2012, when I got a phone call from my agent who told me that the seller was tired of our agreement and I needed to buy the place or move out. Since the divorce wasn't final, I called my Dad who thankfully had access to the money and we were ready to close within two weeks. Only then did we find out that the seller actually owed the IRS because he did not pay taxes on his employees and there was a federal lien on the house. I stayed there, and started paying only half rent last summer, and then in November, 2012, I stopped paying rent at all. My dad was still paying on the loan he got for the house and we had been waiting on the seller all of those months. I finally closed last Friday, so almost a year after I got the phone call to buy the place. And no, the seller did not say one word at the closing about the rent money he did not get from me. My dad had paid out much more in interest alone, and I had had some work done that the inspector wrote up in his report, so if anything, they would have owed us money.
So, fourteen months later, from when I moved in, I finally own the house!
